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At the risk of sounding like a snake oil salesman, I wanted to share a new discovery of mine, but not so new to many in Australia. Tea Tree, also known as melaleuca, is fairly well-known in many parts of the world and friends from Australia and Russia have mentioned it to me over the years and recommended it for antiseptic purposes and it’s general ability to treat wounds.

Tea Tree Oil is a natural antiseptic and should have space in your medicine cabinet.

Tea Tree oil is an essential oil extracted from the Australian native Melaleuca alternifolia plant. Over the past 100 years or so it’s been documented in various medical studies to eliminate many different strains of bacteria, viruses and fungi. A quick search of “tea tree oil antimicrobial” will yield links to 100’s of studies.

The Tea Tree Retro Snake Oil Salesman Story:

Tea Tree oil is big business and has found its way not only into many family natural medicine cabinets, but also into many household cleaning and cosmetic products: shampoos, massage oils, skin and nail creams, face wash, and laundry detergents.

Tea tree oil is often diffused into the air to eliminate mold or applied topically to heal a variety of skin issues (including Acne and some forms of Rosea), it is also used to treat viral infections.

Warning: Tea Tree oil is NOT for internal use as it is known to be poisonous if swallowed.

However, that fact hasn’t stopped some people from using tea tree oil as a component in mouth wash to treat bad breath, bleeding gums, toothaches and mouth ulcers. It is generally considered a good idea to keep the concentration of Tea Tree topical products limited to 5 or 10% and away from your eyes, contact lenses, inner nose, and sensitive parts of your skin. Tea Tree oil also has a rather pungent scent that is strong enough to be used as an insect repellant. Of course some people really like the strong notes of freshly cut wood or leaves associated with Tea Tree oil and use it as air freshener, cologne or perfume.

Tea Tree Oil has traditionally been used to treat: cold sores, earaches, sunburn, insect bites, congestion, respiratory track infections, acne, eczema, psoriasis and boils. Tea Tree oil encourages rapid healing of the skin and has also proven to be effective against fungal and parasitic infections—and therefore can be used to treat ringworm, athlete’s foot, toenail fungus, and candida infections like thrush or vaginal yeast infections.

EV of the Year Judge, independent green journalist, photographer, author and sustainability activist that has published over 1000 articles. Mr Burridge’s travels have taken him to over 40 countries and 300+ major cities. He is originally from the USA, but has been residing in Australia for the last seven years. Connect to Ken Burridge on: Twitter, facebook, Google+, Linked in or website